MIKE Cheston admits he has spoken with owners Venky’s about being the club’s sole UK-based director but there are no current plans to make any additions to the board.

Cheston has taken on the day-to-day running of the club and has ‘embraced a whole new set of responsibilities’ to maintain continuity following the departures of former managing director Derek Shaw and ex-director Alan Myers last year.

He revealed at supporters consultation meeting on Thursday that the key decisions of the club are still made in India, to which communication lines have improved since the arrival of Venky's advisor Suhail Pasha.

“I’ve had conversations with the owners about me being the only representative,” Cheston said.

“It has arisen because previous directors have left and not been replaced.

“I will continue to perform a role at the club and had to embrace a whole new set of responsibilities to keep some sort of continuity.

“I could not have done that without the support of the staff and there are some highly competent staff and they should get all of the credit and I am grateful for their advice and support.

“I work with a team that are fully committed and I enjoy their support and that of the owners.”

Cheston revealed he travelled to India to meet the owners in June but much of his communication with them comes through Pasha, who is based in England, and who he speaks to on a daily basis.

He added: “I deal with the owners through Suhail.

“Communication with the owners has improved significantly. Through him, communication with the owners is much better and the working relationship between me and Suhail is very good.”

Venky’s appointed Paul Senior to the role of Director of Football and Operations in January but he left the club in the wake of relegation to League One. No replacement has been appointed, but Tony Mowbray has spoken about his desire to improve the club’s scouting network.

That has begun with the appointment of Mike Rigg who has joined on a short-term contract which will see him review the scouting arrangements for the Academy, having previously worked at the club as chief scout between 2006 and 2008.

On Senior, Cheston said: “He left the club at the end of the season and we have had a new structure in place to deal with the football negotiations.

“Tony has assembled a team and we had a very successful transfer window by all accounts and credit to them for that, and the support of the owners who provided the budget to be able to do that.”

Fans questioned the club’s long-term plans with the Indian owners set to mark seven years in charge next month.

“We need to get back to the Championship and they (the owners) have demonstrated their commitment to that,” he said.

“Our longer term plan is to ultimately get us back to the Premier League but that has to start with us getting back in to the Championship, consolidating our position within the Championship with a view to making ourselves competitive to the extent to challenge to get back to the Premier League.”

Other topics covered in the meeting saw Cheston reveal the club are looking to engage more with the town’s BAME population.

He also commented that the club are proud of their work within the community, which saw them nominated for EFL Community Club of the Year last season, but are constantly looking at ways to improve the matchday experience for all supporters.

Season ticket sales are in line with last season, while 3,500 fans have signed up to the Club 1875 membership scheme.

Also raised was the fact Rovers had retained Category One Academy status despite relegation and the significant funding it requires.

And Cheston said: “We retained Category One status and that requires us to provide the facilities to meet that. We have just completed the building of an indoor pitch and that is a clear sign of our commitment to what we are doing at Brockhall.”

The decision to withdraw Radio Rovers after 24 years, was also raised. Christine Peacock, accessibility and safeguarding officer at the club, said she contacted fans who relied on the service when she was made aware of the decision.

She said the club have looked at a number of alternatives so they could provide a similar service to Radio Rovers for their visibly impaired supporters. Having conducted trials, receiving feedback from supporters, Rovers are hopeful of having a headset service in place for the next home game with Plymouth on October 17.